Ukraine to hold elections only when security permits
A senior official in Kyiv stated on Wednesday that Ukraine will only hold a presidential election when the security conditions in the ongoing war with Russia allow for it, rejecting the idea of an immediate vote.
“Elections must take place as soon as possible, but not before the security situation allows it. For now, Russian terror continues, and nothing indicates that Russia is interested in ending the war,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Citing unnamed sources, the Financial Times had earlier reported Ukraine was mulling the possibility of holding a presidential election within the next three months under US pressure.
Throughout Russia’s four-year invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin – and more recently the White House – have said Ukraine must hold elections as part of any peace deal.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said Ukraine can hold elections after a peace deal with Russia is signed, but has recently signalled willingness for a speedy vote as part of a US plan to end the war.
“I do not want Ukraine to be in any kind of weak position – for anyone to be able to use the absence of elections as an argument against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told reporters – including from AFP – in December.
“And that is why I am definitely in favour of holding elections,” he added.
He has also said any deal that involves ceding territory to Moscow should be put to a referendum.
Zelenskyy, a former comedian who played a fictionalised president on Ukrainian TV before running for office, was elected in 2019 for a five-year term.
Martial law – imposed when Russia invaded in 2022 – suspends elections, and polling shows little demand among the Ukrainian public for a ballot during the war.
Russia has repeatedly tried to question Zelenskyy’s legitimacy since 2024, when that term would have expired.
There are a number of practical obstacles to holding a ballot, such as security during any campaign and vote, and what to do with the millions of Ukrainian refugees forced abroad, millions more displaced internally and hundreds of thousands living under Russian occupation.
By Ulviyya Salmanli
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